THE Thankful Servants of God, have used sometimes, to Erect Monuments of Stone, as dureable Tokens of their Thankfulness to God, for Mercies Received in the places thus distinguished. Jacob did so; Joshua did so; and Samuel did so; but they so did it, as to keep clear of the Trans­gression forbidden, in Lev. 26 1. Ye shall not set up an Image of Stone in your Land, for to Bow down unto it.

The Stone Erected by Samuel, with the Name of Ebenezer, which is as much as [...] say, A Stone of Help; I know not whet [...] any Thing might be Writt upon it: but [...] [Page 5] am sure, there is one thing to be now Read upon it, by our selves, in the Text where we find it: Namely, thus much,

That a People whom the God of Heaven hath Remarkably Helped, in their Distresses, ought Greatly and Gratefully to acknowledge, what Help of Heaven they have Received.

Now, 'tis not my Design to lay the Scene of my Discourse, as far off as Bethear, the place where Samuel set up his Ebenezer ▪ I am immediately to Transfer it into the Heart of Boston, a place where the Remar­kable Help Received from Heaven, by the People, does loudly call for an Ebenezer. And I do not ask you, to change the Name of the Town, into that of Help-Stone, as there is a Town in England of that Name, which may seem the English, of Ebenezer; But my Sermon shall be this Day, your Ebenezer, if you will with a Favourable, and a Profitable Attention Entertain it. May the Lord Jesus Christ, Accept me, and Assist me now, to Glorify Him, in the Town, where I drew my First Sinful Breath; A Town, whereto I am un­der Great Obligations, for the Precious Opportunities to Glorify Him, which I have [Page 6] quietly and publickly enjoy'd therein, for Near Eighteen years together. O my Lord God, Remember me, I pray thee, and Streng­then me this once, to speak from thee, unto thy People!

And now, Sirs, That I may set up an EBENEZER among you, there are these Things to be Inculcated.

I. Let us Thankfully, and Agreeably, and Particularly, Acknowledge What Help we have Received from the God of Heaven, in the years that have Rolled over us. While the Blessed Apostle Paul, was, as it should seem, yet short of being Threescore years old, how affectionately did he set up an Ebenezer, with an Acknowledgment, in Act. 26.22. Having obtained Help of God, I continue to This Day! Our Town is now Threescore and Eight years old; and certainly 'tis Time for us, with all possible affection, to set up our Ebenezer, saying, Having obtained Help from God, the Town it continued, until almost the Age of man is passed over it! The Town hath indeed Three Elder Sisters in this Colony; but it hath Wonderfully Outgrown them all; and [Page 7] her Mother, old Boston, in England also; Yea, within a Few years, after the first-Settlement, it grew to be, The Metro­polis of the whole English America. Little was This Expected, by them that First-Settled the Town, when, for a while, Boston, was proverbially called, Lost Town, for the mean and sad Circumstan­ces of it. But, O Boston, it is because thou hast Obtained Help from God; even from the Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the sake of His Gospel, Preached and once prized here, undertook thy Patronage. When the World and the Church of God, had seen Twenty six Generations, a Psalm was Composed, wherein that Note occurs with Twenty six Repetitions; His Mercy endu­reth for ever. Truly, there ha's not one year passed over this Town, Ab Urbe Con­dita, upon the Story whereof, we might not make that Note, our Ebenezer; His Mercy endureth for ever. It ha's been a Town of Great Experiences. There have been several years, wherein the Terrible Famine, hath Terribly Stared the Town in the Face: We have been brought some­times unto the Last Meal in the Barrel; [Page 8] We have cryed out, with the Disciples, We have not Loaves enough to feed a Tenth part of us! But the fear'd Famine ha's alwayes been kept off; alwayes, we have had Seasonable and Sufficient Supplyes, after a Surprising manner sent in unto us: Let the Three last years in this thing most Eminently Proclame the Goodness of our Heavenly Shepherd and Feeder. This ha's been the Help of our God; Because His Mercy endureth for ever! The Angels of Death, have often Shot the Arrows of Death, into the midst of the Town; The Small Pox, ha's especially Four Times, been a Great Plague upon us: How often have there been Bills desiring Prayers, for more than an Hundred Sick, on one Day in one of our Assemblies? In One Twelve-Month, about one Thousand of our Neigh­bours, have one way or other been carried unto their long Home: And, yet we are after all, many more than Seven Thousand Souls of us, at this Hour, Living on the Spot. Why is not, a, Lord, have Mercy upon us, written on the Doors of our Abandon'd Habitations? This hath been the Help of our God; Because His Mercy endureth for ever. [Page 9] Never was any Town under the Cope of Heaven, more liable to be laid in Ashes, either through the Carelesness, or through the Wickedness, of them that Sleep in it. That such a Combustible Heap, of Contigu­ous Houses, yet Stands, it may be called, A Standing Miracle; It is not, because the Watch-man keeps the City: Perhaps there may be too much cause of Reflection in that thing, and of Inspection too; No, It is from thy Watchful Protection, O Thou keep­er of Boston, who neither Slumbers nor Sleeps. Ten Times ha's the Fire made Notable Ruines among us, and our Good Servant been almost our Master: But the Ruines have mostly and quickly been Rebuilt. I suppose, That many more than a Thou­sand Houses are to be seen, on this little piece of Ground, all fill'd with the un­deserved Favours of God. Whence this preservation? This hath been the Help of our God; Because His Mercy endureth for ever! But if ever this Town saw a Year of Salvations, transcendently such was the Last Year unto us. A Formidable French Squadron, hath not Shot one Bomb, into the midst of thee, O thou Munition of Rocks; [Page 10] Our Streets have not Run with Blood, & Gore, and horribly Devou [...]ing Flames, have not Rag [...]d upon our Substance: Those are [...], then hast thou been [Page 11] [...] City of Destruction: Or, I will rather say, A City of Salvation: And this, by the [...]elp of God; Because His Mercy Endureth for ever. Shall I go on? I will. We have not had the Bread of Adversity and the Water of Affliction, Like many other places. But yet, all this while, Our Eyes have seen our Teachers. Here are several Golden Candlesticks in the Town. Shining and Burning Lights, have Illuminated them. There are gone to Shine in an Higher Orb, Seven Divines that were once the Stars of this Town, in the Pastoral Charge of it; besides many others▪ that for some years gave us transient Influences Church­es flourishing with much Love, and Peace and many Comforts of the Holy Spirit, have hitherto been our greatest [...]. I wish, That some [...]ad Eclipse do not come e're long upon this Glory ▪ The Dispensations of the Gospel were never Enjoy'd by any Town, with more Liberty and [...], for so long a while together. Our Opportuni­ties to Draw near unto the L [...]d Jesus Christ, in His Ordinances, cannot be pa­rallel'd. Boston, Thou hast been Lifted up to Heaven; There is not a Town up­on [Page 12] Earth, which on some Accounts has more to answer for. Such, O Such, has been our Help from our God, Because His Mercy Endureth for ever.

II. Let us Acknowledge, Whose Help it is, that we have Received, & not Give the Glory of our God unto another. Poorly Helped had we been, I may tell you, if we had none but Humane Help, all this while to depend upon. The Favours of our Superiors we Deny not; we Forget not the Instruments of our Help. Ne­vertheless, this Little Outcast Zion, shall with my consent, Engrave the Name of no MAN, upon her Ebenezer! It was well confess'd in Psal. 108.12. Vain is the Help of man! It was well counsell'd in Psal. 146.3. Put not your trust in Princes, nor in the Son of man, in whom there is no Help.

Wherefore,

First, Let God in our Lord Iesus Christ, have the Glory, of Bestowing on us, all the Help, that we have had. When the Spirit of God came upon a Servant of His, he cried out unto David, in 1 Chron. 12.18. Thy God Helpeth thee. This, [Page 13] This is the voice of God, from Heaven to Boston this Day, Thy God hath Helped thee: Thou hast by thy Sin destroyed thy self, but in thy God hath been thy Help. A Great man, once Building an Edifice, caused an Inscription of this Importance, to be written on the Gates of it, Such a place planted me, Such a place watered me, and Caesar gave the Increase One that pass'd by, with a witty Sarcasm, wrote under it, His Deus nihil f [...]cit. i. e. God, it seems, did nothing for this man. But the Inscrip­tion upon our Ebenezer, owning what Help, this Town hath had, shall say, Our God hath done all that is done! Say then, O Helped Boston, say as in Psal. 121.2. My Help is from the Lord, which made Heaven and Earth. Say, as in Psal. 94.17. Unless the Lord had been my Help, my Soul had quickly dwelt in silence. And, Boldly say, 'Tis only because the Lord has been my Helper, that Earth and Hell, have never d [...]ne [...] that they would unto me.

Let our Lord JESUS CHRIST, be prais'd as our Blessed Helper: That Stone which the Foolish Builders have refused, Oh! Set up that Stone; even, that H [...]gh [Page 14] Rock, Set Him on High in our praises, and say, That, That is our Ebenezer. 'Tis our Lord JESUS CHRIST, who in His Infinite Compassions for the Town, hath said; as in Isa. 63.5. I Looked, [...] there was none to Help; Therefore my own Arms hath brought Salvation unto it. It is fore­told concerning the Idolatrous Roman Catholicks, That together with the Lord Jesus Christ, they shall Worship other Ma­uzzim: that is to say, other Protectors. Ac­cordingly, All their Towns, ordinarily have singled out their Protectors, among the Saints of Heaven; such a Saint is En­tituled unto the Patronage of such a Town among them, and such a Saint for ano­ther: Old Boston, by Name, was but Saint Botolphs Town. Whereas, Thou, O Boston, shalt have but one Pro­tector in Heaven, and that is, our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Oh! Rejoice in Him alone, & say, That Lord is my Fortress and my Deliverer! There was a Song once made for a Town, which in its Distresses had been Helped wondrously; & the First Clause in that Song, [you have it in Isa. 26.1.] may be so rendred, We have a [Page 15] strong Town; Salvation [or JESUS, the Lord whose Name hath Salvation in it] Will appoint Walls and Bulwarks. Truly, What Helps we have had, we will Sing, 'Tis our JESUS, that hath appointed them. The old Pagan Towns, were sometimes mightily solicitous, to conceal the Name of the particular God, that they counted their Protector, Ne ab hostibus E [...]catus, alio commigraret. But, I shall be far from do­ing my Town any Damage, by publish­ing the Name of its Protector; No, Let all Mankind know, That the Name of our Protector, is JESUS CHRIST: For, Among the Gods, there [...] none like unto thee, O LORD▪ Nor [...] any Help like unto thine: And there is no Rock, [...] to our God.

Yea, When we [...]scribe the Name of Helper, unto our Lord JESUS CHRIST, Let us also acknowledge, that the Name is not sufficiently Expressive, Emphatical, and Significant. Lactantius of old, bla­med the Heathen, for giving the Highest of their Gods, no Higher a Ti [...]le, than that of, Jupiter, or, Juvans Pater, i. e. An Helping Father, and he says, Non intelligit Divina Beneficia, qui se a Deo tantummodo [Page 16] Juvari putat: The Kindnesses of God, are not understood, by that man, who makes no more than an Helper of Him. Such indeed is the penury of our Language, that we cannot coin a more Expressive Name. Nevertheless, when we say, The Lord JESUS CHRIST hath been our Helper, Let us Intend more than we Ex­press; Lord, Thou hast been All unto us.

Secondly; Let the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, most Explici [...]ly, have the Glory of Purchasing for us all our Help. What was it, that procured, an Ebenezer, for the People of God? We read, in 2 Sam. 7.9. Samuel took a Sucking-Lamb, and offered it a Burnt Offering wholly unto the Lord; and Samuel Cryed unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord Heard him. Shall I tell you? Our Lord Jesus Christ, is that Lamb of God; and he has been a Lamb Slain as a Sacrifice; and He is a Sacrifice pleadable, not only for persons, but also for peoples ▪ that belong unto Him. To Teach us this Evangelical and Com­fortable Mystery, there was, A Sacrifice for the whole Congregation, prescribed in the Mosaic Paedagogy. 'Tis notorious, that the Sins of this Town, have been many [Page 17] Sins, and mighty Sins; The Cry thereof hath gone up to Heaven. If the Almighty God should from Heaven Rain down upon the Town▪ an horrible Tempest of Thunderbolts, as He did upon the Cities which He overthrew in His Anger, and re­pented not, it would be no more than our Unrepen [...]ed Sins deserve. How comes it then to pass, that we have had so much Help from Heaven after all? Truly, The Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, has been plea [...]ed for Boston, and, Therefore, say, Therefore it is, that the Town is not made a Sacrifice to the Vengeance of God. God sent Help to the Town, that was the very Heart and Life of the Land, that He had a pitty for: But why so? He said, in Isa▪ 37.35. I will desend this Town, to Save it, for my Servant Davids sake. Has this Town been Defended? It has been for the sake of the Beloved JESUS; Therefore has the Daughter of Boston sha­ken her Head at you, O ye Calamities, that have been Impending over her Head. O Helped, and Happy Town! Thou hast had those Believers in the midst of thee, that have pleaded this with the Great [Page] God; Ah! Lord, Thou hast been more Ho­noured by the Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ than thou couldest be Honoured by o­verwhelming this Town with all the plagues of thy Just Indignation. If thou wilt Spare, and Feed, and Keep, and Help this poor Town, the Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, shall be own'd, as the price of all our Help. 'Tis This, that hath procured us all our Help: 'Tis This that must have all our praise.

Thirdly; Let the Lord be in a special manner Glorified, for the Ministry of His Good Angels, in that Help that has been ministred unto us. A Jacob lying [...]n a Stone, saw the Angels of God Helping him. We are setting up an Ebenezer; but when we Lay our Heads and our Thoughts up­on the Stone, Let us then see, The Angels of God have Helped us. When Macedonia, was to have some Help from God, an Angel, whom the Apostle, in Acts 16.9. Saw Habited like a man of Macedonia, was a mean of its being brought unto them. There is abundant cause to think, That every Town in which the Lord Jesus Christ is worshipped, hath an Angel to watch over it. The Primitive Christians, [Page 19] were perswaded from the Scriptures of Truth, to make no Doubt of This, Quod per Civitates distributae sunt Angelorum prae­fecturoe. When the Capital Town of Ju­daea, was rescued from an Invasion, we read in 2 King. 19.35. The Angel of the Lord WENT OUT, and smote the Camp of the Assyrians. It should seem, There was an Angel, which did Reside in, and Prae­side over the Town, who went out for that amazing Exploit. And is it not Likely, That the Angel of the Lord WENT OUT for to smite the Fleet of the Assyrians, with a Sickness, which the Last Summer hindred their Invading of this Town? The Angel of BOSTON, was concerned for it! Why have not the Destroyers broke in upon us, to prey upon us, with sore Destruction? 'Tis because we have had, A Wall of Fire about us; that is to say, A Guard of Angels, those Flames of Fire, have been as a Wall unto us. It was an Angel, that Help'd a Daniel, when the Li­ons would else have swallowed him up. It was an Angel, that Help'd a Lot, out of the Fires that were coming to Consume his Habitation. It was an Angel, that [Page 20] Help'd an Elias to [...], when he wanted it. They were Ang [...], [...]hat Help'd the whole [...] of God, in [...]he Wilderness, to their Daily Bread ▪ Their Manna, was Angels Food And is it nothing, that such Angels have done for this Town, Think you? Oh! Think not so. Indeed, If we sh [...]uld go to Thank the Angels for doing these things, They would zealously say, See [...] do it not! But if we Thank Their [...], and ours, for His Employing Them [...]o Do these things, it will exceedingly [...] them. Wherefore, Bless [...], ye his Angels; And Bless [...] Town, for these His Angels!

III. Let the Help which we have Hi­therto had from our God, Enc [...]u [...]ge [...] Hope in Him, for More Help [...], as the Matter may R [...]quire. The He [...]p [...] God had given to His People, [...] Commemorated, as with [...] Pil­lars, conveying down the Remembrance of it, unto their Children. And what for? We are told, in Psal. 78.7. That they might se [...] their Hope in God, and [...] Forget the Works of God. I am not willing to say, [Page 21] How much this Town may be Threaten­ed, even with an U [...]ter Extirpation. But this I will say, The Motto upon all out Ebenezers is, Hope in God! Hope in God! The Use of the Former Help that we have had from God, should be an Hope for Future Help, from Him that is, A Pre­sent Help in the Time of Trouble. As in the Three First Verse o [...] the Eighty Fifth Psalm, Six times over there occurs, Thou hast, Thou hast: all to usher in this; Therefore Thou WILT still do so O Let our Faith proceed in that way of Arguing, i [...] 2 Cor. 1.10. The Lord hath Delivered, and H [...] doth Deliver, and in Him we Trust, that He will still Deliver. We are to Day Wil [...]ing, Hitherto the Lord hath Helped us; Let us write under it, And we ho [...]e, the Lord [...] m [...]re H [...]lp for us, in the Time of Need! It may be▪ some are purposi [...]g Su [...]denly and Hastily to Leave the Town, th [...]oug [...] their Fears of the [...] that may come upon it. But I would not have you be too Sudden and Hasty in [...]our purposes, as too many have been▪ [...]nto [...]- S [...]rrow. There was a Time when P [...]ople were so Discouraged about a Subsistence in [Page 22] the principal Town of the Jews, that the talk'd of plucking up Stakes, and flying [...]way; but the Minister of God came to them, [And so do I to you, this Day! Saying, in Isa. 30 7. I Cried concerning [...] This, Their Strength is to Sit Sill! Bosto [...] was no sooner come to some Consistenc [...] Threescore years ago, but the People foun [...] themselves plunged into a sad Non plu [...] what way to take for a Subsistence. Go [...] then immediately put them into a way [...] and, Hitherto the Lord has Helped us! Th [...] Town is at this Day full of Widows an [...] Orphans, and a multitude of them, are very Helpless Creatures. I am Astonish'd, Ho [...] they Live! In that Church, whereof [...] am the Servant, I have counted▪ The Widows make about a Sixth Part of ou [...] Communicants, and, no doubt, in the whole Town, the proportion differs no [...] very much. Now, stand still, my Friends and Behold, the Help of God! Were any of these ever Starved yet? No, These Widows are every one in some sort pro­vided for. And let me tell you, Ye Hand-Maids of the Lord, You shall be Still pro [...]vided for! The Lord, whose Family you [Page 23] [...]elong unto, will conveniently and won­ [...]erfully provide for you; if you say, and [...]! Say! of Him, The Lord is my Helper, will not Fear!

What shall I say? When Moses was [...]ady to faint, in his Prayers for his Peo­ [...]le, we read, in Exod. 17.12 They took a [...]one and put it under him Christians, [...]here are some of you, who abound in [...]rayers, that the Help of God may be [...]anted unto the Town; the Town is [...]uch upheld by those Prayers of yours. [...]ow, that you may not faint in your [...]rayers, I bring you a Stone: The Stone, [...]s our Ebenezer; or, the Relation of the [...]elp that hitherto the Lord hath given us.

IV. Let all that bear Publick Office [...] the Town, Contribute all the Help they [...], that may continue the Help of God [...]to us. Austin, in his Confessions, gives [...]hanks to God, That when he was an [...]elpless Infant, he had a Nurse to Help him, [...] one that was both Able & Willing to Help [...]. Infant- Boston, Thou hast those, whom [...] Bible calls, Nursing-Fathers. Oh, Be not [...]oward, as thou art, in thy Treating of [...] Nurses; but give Thanks to God for [Page 24] them. I Forget my self; 'Tis with the Fathers themselves, that I am concerned.

When it was demanded of Demosthenes, what it was, that so long Preserved Athens in a flourishing State, he made this answer, The Orators are men of Learning & Wisdom; the Magistrates do Justice, the Citizens love Quiet, and the Laws are kept among them all. May Boston flourish in such happy Order!

And first, You may assure yourselves▪ That the Ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ among you will be Joyful to ap­prove themselves, as the Book of God has called them, The Helpers of your Joy. O our dear Flocks; we owe you our All; All our Love, all our Strength, all our Time; We, Watch for you, as th [...]se that must give an Account: And I am very much mistaken▪ if we are not willing to Dy for you t [...]o, if called unto it. If our Lord Jesus Christ should say, to us, My Servant, if you'l Dy to Night, you shall have this Reward; The People that you Preach to, shall be all Converted unto me! I think, We should with Triumphing Souls Reply, Ah! Lord, Then I'l Dy with all my Heart. Syrs, we should go away Rejoycing with Joy unspeakable & [Page 25] full of Glory. I am satisfied, That the most Furious and Foul mouth'd Reviler, that God may give any of us, to be Buf­feted withal, if he will but come to so­ber Thoughts, he will say, That there is not any One man in the Town, but the Ministers wish that man as well as they do their own Souls, and would gladly Serve that man by Day or by Night, in any thing that it were possible to do for him. Wherefore, O our Beloved People, I beseech you, Leave off, Leave off, to Throw Stones at your Ebenezers. Instead of That, Pray for us, and Strive together with us, in your Prayers to God for us. Then with the Help of Christ, we'l promise you; We will set our selves to observe what Special Truths may be most needful to be Inculcated upon you, and we will Inculcate them. We will set our selves to observe the Temptations that beset you, the Afflictions that assault you, and the Duties that are incumbent on you, and we will accommodate our selves unto them. We will set our selves to observe, what Souls among you, do call for our m [...]re particular Addresses, and we will Ad­dress [Page 26] them faithfully, and even Travail i [...] Birth for them. Nor will we give over Praying, and Fasting, and Crying to our Great LORD for you, until we Dy. Whatever other Helpers the Town En­joyes, they shall have that convenience, in Ezra. 5.2. With them were the Prophets of God, Helping them. Well then, Let the rest of our Worthy Helpers, Lend an Hel­ping Hand, for the promoting of those things, wherein the Weal of the Town is wrapped up! When the Jews thought that a Defiling Thing was breaking in a­mong them, in Acts 21.28. They cried out, Men of Israel, Help. Truly, there is cause to make that Cry, Men of Boston, Help! for Ignorance, and Prophaness, and Bad Living, and the worst things in the World, are breaking in upon us.

And now, Will the JUSTICES of the Town, set themselves to consider, How they may Help to Suppress all growing Vice [...] among us?

Will the CONSTABLES of the Town, set themselves to consider, How they may Help to prevent all Evil Orders among us?

There are some who have the Eye of [Page 27] the Town so much upon them, that the very Name of, TOWNS-MEN, is that by which they are distinguished. Syrs, Will You also consider, How to Help the Affairs of the Town, so as that all Things may go well among us?

Moreover, may not SCHOOL-MAS­TERS, do much to instil Principles of Religion, and Civility, as well as other points of good Education into the Chil­dren of the Town? Only Let the Town well Encourage its Well Deserving School-Masters.

There are some other Officers; But concerning All, there are these Two Things to be Desired. First, It is to be Desired, That such Officers as are Chosen among us, may be Chosen in the Fear of God. May none but Pious, and Prudent men, and such as Love the Town, be Chosen to Serve it. And, Secondly, It is to be Desired, That Officers of several sorts, would often come together, for Con­sultation. Each of the sorts by themselves, may they often come together, to Con­sult, What shall we do to Serve the Town, in those Interests which are committed unto [Page] our Charge. Oh! What a Deplorable Thing, will it be, for persons to be En­trusted with Talents, [your Opportunities to Serve the Town, are so many Talents!] and they never seriously consider, What Good shall I do, with my Talents, in the place where God hath Station'd me?

And, Will the REPRESENTATIVES of the Town, be considered among the rest, as Entrusted with some singular Ad­vantages for our Help! The Lord give you understanding in all Things.

V. God Help the Town, to manifest all that Piety, which a Town so Helped of Him, is oblig'd unto! When the People of God, had been carried, by His Help, through their Difficulties, they set up Stones, to keep in mind how He had Help­ed them: And something was written on the Stones: But what was written! See; Josh. 8.32. Joshua wrote upon the Stones, a Copy of the Law. Truly, upon those Ebenezers, which we set up, we should write the Law of our God, and Recognize the Obligati­ons which the Help of our God, ha's laid upon us to keep it.

[Page 29]We are a very Unpardonable Town, if after all the Help which our God ha's given us, we do not ingenuously Enqu [...] ▪ What shall we Render to the Lord, for all His Be­nefits? Render! Oh! Let us our selves thus answer the Enquiry; Lord, we will Render all possible, and Filia Obedience unto thee, because Hitherto thou hast Helped us: Only do thou also Help us, to Render that Obe­dience! Mark what I say; If there be so much as one Prayerless House in such a Town as this, 'tis Inexcusable! How Inexcusable then, will be all Flagitious Outrages? There was a Town, [T'was the Town of Sodom!] that had been wonderfully Saved out of the Hands of their Enemies. But after the Help that God sent unto them, the Town went on to Sin against God, in very prodigious Instances. At last, a provoked God sent a Fire upon the Town, that made it an Eternal Desolation. Ah, Boston, Beware, Beware, lest the Sins of Sodom get Footing in thee! And what were the Sins of Sodom? We find in Ezek. 16.49. Be­hold, This was the Iniquity of Sodom; Pride, Fulness of Bread, and Abundance of Idleness was in her; Neither did she Strengthen the [Page 30] Hand of the Poor and the Needy; There was much Oppression there. If you know of any Scandalous Disorders in the Town, do all you can, to Suppress them, and Redress them: And let not those that send their Sons hither from other parts of the world, for to be improved in Virtue, have cause to Complain, That after they came to Boston, they lost, what little Vertue was before Bud­ding in them: That in Boston they grew more Debauched & more Malignant than ever they were before! It was noted concerning the famous Town of Port Royal in Jamaica, which you know, was t'other Day Swal­low'd up, in a Stupendous Earthquake, that just before the Earthquake the People were Violently and Scandalously set upon going to Fortune Tellers upon all Occasions: much Notice was taken of this Impiety, generally prevailing among the People: but none of those Wretched Fortune-Tellers could Foresee, or Forestal the direful Catastrophe. I have heard, That there are Fortune-Tellers in this Town, sometimes consulted by some of the Sinful Inhabitants. I wish the Town could be made too Hot for these Dangerous Transgressors. I am sure, the [Page 31] preservation of the Town, from horren­dous Earthquakes, is one thing that bespeaks, our, Ebenezers; 'Tis from the Merciful Help of our God unto us. But, Beware, I beseech you, of those Provoking Evils that may Expose us to a Plague, Exceeding all that are in the Catalogue of the Twenty Eighth of Deuteronomy. Let me go on, to say; What? Shall there be any Bawdy-Houses in such a Town as This! It may be, the Neighbours, that could Smoke 'em, and Rout 'em, if they would, are loth to Stir, for fear of being reputed Ill Neighbours. But, I say unto you, That you are Ill Neigh­bours, because you do it not: All the Neigh­bours are like to have their Children and Servants poisoned, and their Dwellings laid in Ashes, because you do it not! And, Oh! that the Drinking-Houses in the Town, might once come under a laudable Regulation. The Town ha's an Enormous Number of them! Will the Haunters of those Houses, hear the Counsils of Heaven? For You that are the Town Dwellers, to be oft, or long in your Visits of the Ordi­nary, 'twill certainly Expose you to Mis­chiefs more than ordinary. I have seen [Page 32] certain Taverns, where the Pictures of horrible Devourers were hang'd out for the Signs; and thought I, 'twere well, if such Signs were not sometimes too too Significant! Alas, men have their Estates Devoured, their Names Devoured, their Hours Devoured, and their very Souls De­voured, when they are so besotted, that they are not in their Element, except they be Tipling at such Houses. When once a man is Bewitched, with the Ordinary, what usually becomes of him? He is a gone man; And when he comes to Dy, he'l cry out, as many have done, Ale ho [...]ses are Hell-Houses! Ale-houses are Hell hou­ses! But Let the Owners of those Houses, also now hear our Counsils. Oh! Hear­ken to me, that God may Hearken to you a­nother Day! It is an Honest, and a Lawful, tho' it be not a very Desireable, Employ­ment, that you have undertaken: You may Glorifie the Lord Jesus Christ in your Employment, if you will, and Benefit the Town considerably. There was a very Godly man, that was an Inn [...]keeper; and a Great Minister of God, could say to that man, in 3 Joh. 2. Thy Soul prospereth. O [Page 33] Let it not be said of you, since you are fallen into this Employment, Thy Soul wi­thereth! It is thus, with too many: Espe­cially, when they that get a License per­haps to Sell Drink out of Doors, do stretch their License to Sell within Doors. Those Private Houses, when once a Professor of the Gospel, comes to Steal a Living out of them, it commonly praecipitates them, into abundance of wretchedness and con­fusion. But, I pray God, assist you that keep Ordinaries, to keep the Commandments of God, in them. There was an Inn at Bethlehem; where the Lord JESUS CHRIST was to be met withal. Can Boston boast of many such? Alas, Too or­dinarily it may be said, There is no Room for Him in the Inn! My Friends, Let me beg it of you; Banish the unfruitful works of Darkness from your Houses, and then the Sun of Righteousness will shine upon them. Don't countenance Drunkenness, Revelling, & Mispending of precious Time in your Houses: Let none have the Snares of Death Laid for them in your Houses. You'l say, I shall Starve then! I say, Bet­ter Starve than Sin. But you, shall not. [Page 34] It is the Word of the Most High, Trust in the Lord, and do Good, and verily thou shalt be Fed. And is not Peace of Conscience, with a Little, better than those Riches ▪ that will shortly melt away, and then run Like Scalding Metal down the very Bow­els of thy Soul!

What shall I say more? There is one Article of Piety more to be Recommend­ed unto us all; and it is an Article, which all Piety does exceedingly Turn upon▪ That is, The Sanctification of the Lords Day. Some very Judicious Persons, have obser­ved, That as they Sanctified the Lords Day, Remisly or Carefully, just so, their Affayrs usually prospered all the Ensuing Week. Sirs, You cannot more consult the Prosperity of the Town, in all its Affayrs, than by Endeavouring that the Lords Day may be Exemplarily Sanctifyed. When People about Jerusalem, took too much Liberty on the Sabbath, the Ruler of the Town Con­tended with them, and said, Ye bring wrath upon Israel by prophaning the Sabbath ▪ I fear, I fear, There are many among us, to whom it may be said, Ye bring wrath upon Boston, by prophaning the Sabbath. And what [Page 35] Wrath? Ah Lord, prevent it! But there is an awful Sentence in Jer. 17.27. If ye will not Hearken unto me, to Sanctify the Sabbath-Day, then will I kindle a Fire on the Town, and it shall Devour, and shall not be Quenched.

Finally, Let the Piety of the Town ma­nifest it self, in a due Regard unto the Institutions of Him, whose Help ha's Hitherto been a Shield unto us. Let the Ark be in the Town, [...]nd God will Blest the Town! I believe, it may be found, That in the Mortal Scourges of Heaven, which this Town ha's felt, there ha's been a Discernable Distinction, of those that have come up to Attend all the Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Communion of His Churches. Though these have had, as 'tis fit they should, a Share, in the Com­mon Deaths, yet the Destroying Angel, ha's not had so great a proportion of these in his Commission, as he ha's had of others. Whether This be so, or no; To Uphold, and Support, and Attend the Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ in Reforming Churches, This will Entitle the Town to the Help of Heaven; for, Upon the Glory, there shall be a Defence! There were the Victorious [Page 36] Forces of Alexander, that in going back­ward and foreward, pass'd by Jerusalem, without Hurting it. Why so? said the Lord, in Zech 9.8. I will Encamp about my House, because of the Army. If our God have an House here, He'l Encamp about it. Nazianzen, a famous Minister of the Gos­pel, taking his Farewel of Constantinople, an old man, that had sat under his Ministry, cryed out, Oh! my Father, Don't you dare to go away, you'l carry the whole Trinity with you! How much more, may it be cryed out, If we Loose or Sleight, the Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ, we Foregoe the Help of all the Trinity with them!

VI. Extraordinary Equity & Charity, as well as Piety well becomes a Town, that hath been by the Help of God so Extra­ordinarily signalized. A Town marvel­lously Helped by God, has This Foretold concerning it, in Isa. 1 26. Afterward thou shalt be called, The City of Righteousness, The Faithful City. [...] Ebenezer ▪ of this Town, render it, A Town of Equity, and, A Town of Charity! Oh! There should be [...] [Page 35] with Heaven ha's Dealt so Favourably. Let us Deal Fairly in Bargains; Deal Fairly in Taxes; Deal Fairly in paying Re­spects to such as have been Benefactors unto the Town. 'Tis but Equity, that they, who have been Old Standers in the Town, and both with Person and Estate Served the Town unto the utmost for many years together, should on all Proper Occasions be considered. For Charity, I may indeed speak it without Flattery, this Town has not many Equals on the Face of the Earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven, wrote, unto the good people of a Town, in the Les­ser Asia, [Rev. 2.19.] I know thy works, and Charity. From that Blessed Lord, I may venture to bring that Message unto the Good people of this Town; The Glo­rious Lord of Heaven, knows thy works, O Boston, and all thy Charity. This is a poor Town; and yet it may be said of the Bostonians, as it was of the Macedonians, Their Deep poverty hath abounded unto the Riches of their Liberality. O ye Bountiful people of God, All your Daily Bounties to the Needy, All your Subscriptions to [Page 36] Send the Bread of Life abroad unto place [...] that are perishing in Wickedness, All your Collections in your Assemblies as of­ten as they are called for; All these Alms are come up for a Memorial before God! The Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven hath Beheld your Helpfulness, and Readiness to every good Work; and He hath Requited it, with His Helpful Ebenezers. It was said, in Isa. 32.8. The Liberal Deviseth Liberal Things, and by Liberal Things he shall stand. There are some in this Town, that are always Devi­sing Liberal Things, and our Lord Jesus Christ, Lets the Town Stand for the sake of those! Instead of Exhorting you, to Augment your Charity, I will rather utter an Exhortation, or at Least, a Supplication, that you may not Abuse your Charity, by misapplying of it. I remember, I have Read, That an Inhabitant of the City Pisa, being asked, Why their Town so went, as it then did, unto Decay, he fetch­ed a deep sigh, and said, Our young men are too prodigal, our old men are too Affecti­onate, and we have no punishment for those that spend their years in Idleness. Ah, The last stroak of that complaint, I must here [Page 37] [...]igh it over again. Idleness, alas, Idleness, increases in the Town exceedingly: Idle­ness, of which there never came any Goodness; Idleness, which is a Reproach to any people. We work hard, all Summer, and the Drones count themselves wrong'd, if they have it not in the Winter divided among them. The Poor that can't Work, are Objects for your Liberality. But the Poor, that can Work and won't, the best Liberality to them, is to make them. I beseech you▪ Syrs, Find out a method quickly, That the Idle persons in the Town, may Earn their Broad; It were the best piece of Charity, that could be shown un­to them, and Equity, unto us all. Our Beggars, do shamefully grow upon us, and such Beggars too, as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself hath Expresly forbidden us to countenance. I have Read a printed Sermon, which was Preached before Both Houses of Parliament, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, and the Assembly of Divines; the Greatest Audience then in the World: And in that Sermon, the Preacher had this passage; I have Lived in a Countrey, where, in seven years, I never [Page 38] saw a Beggar, nor heard an Oath, nor look [...]d upon a Drunkard. Shall I tell you where that Utopia was? 'Twas NEW-ENG­LAND! But they that go from hence, must now tell another Story.

VII. May the Changes, and especially the Judgments, that have come upon the Town, direct us, what Help to petiti­on from the God of our Salvations. The Israelites had formerly seen dismal Things, where they now set up their Ebenezer: The Philistines had no less than Twice beaten them there, and there taken from them the Ark of God. Now we are setting up our Ebenezer, Let us a little call to mind some Dismal Things that we have seen; the Ebenezer will go up the better for it.

We read, in 1 Sam. 6.18. concerning, The Great Stone of Abel. Some say, That Adam Erected that Stone, as a Grave stone for his Abel, and wrote that Epi [...]aph upon it, Here was poured out the Blood of the Righ­teous ABEL I know nothing of This, The Names, I know, differ in the Origi­nal; But as we may Erect many a Stone [Page 39] for an Ebenezer, so, we may Erect many a Great Stone of ABEL, that is to say, We may write, MOURNING and SOR­ROW, upon the Condition of the Town in various Examples. Now, from the Stones of Abel, we will a little gather what we should wish to write upon the Stones of our Ebenezer.

What Changes have we seen, in point of Religion? It was Noted by Luther, He could never see Good order in the Church, last more than Fifteen years together in the Purity of it. Blessed be God, Religion hath here flourished in the Purity of it, for more than Fifteen years together. But, certainly, the Power of Godliness is now grievously decay'd among us. As the Prophet of old Excla­med, in Joel 1.2. Hear this, ye old men, and give Ear, ye Inhabitants; Ha's this been in your Dayes: Thus may I say, Hear this, ye old men, that are the Inhabitants of the Town: Can't you Remember, that in your Dayes, a Prayerful, a Watchful, a Fruitful Christi­an, and a well Governed Family, was a more common Sight, than it is now in our Dayes? Can't you Remember, that in your Dayes, those Abominable Things did not [Page 40] Show their Heads, that are now Bare-faced among us? Here then is a Petition to be made unto our God; Lord, Help us to Re­member whence we are Fallen, and to Repent, and to Do the First Works.

Again; What Changes have we seen, in point of Mortality? By Mortality, al­most all the Old Race of our First Planters here, are carryed off; the Old Stock, is in a manner Expired. We see the Fulfil­ment of that word, in Eccl. 1 4. One Ge­neration passeth away, and another Generation cometh. It would be no unprofitable Thing for you, to pass over the several Streets, & call to mind, Who Lived here so many years ago? Why? In that place lived such an one; and in that place lived such an one. But, Where are they Now? Oh! They are Gone, They are Gone into that Eternal World, whither We must quickly follow them. Here is another Petition, to be [...] unto our God; Lord, Help us to [...] our Dayes, and apply our Hearts unto Wis [...] that when the places that now know [...] us no more, we may be gone into the [...] of God.

Furthermore; What Changes have we [Page 41] seen, in point of Possessions? If some [...]hat are now Rich, were once Low in the World, 'tis possible, more that were once Rich, are now brought very Low. Ah! Boston, Thou hast seen the Vanity of all Worldly Possessions ▪ One fatal Morning, which laid Fourscore of thy Dwelling Hou­ses, and Seventy of thy Ware houses, in a Ruinous Heap, not Nineteen years ago, gave thee to Read it in Fiery Characters. And an huge Fleet of thy Vessels, which they would make, if they were all together, that have miscarried in the late War, ha's given thee to Read more of it. Here is one Petition more, to be made unto our God; Lord, Help us to Ensure a Better and a lasting Substance in Heaven, and the Good part that cannot be taken away.

In fine; How dreadfully have the Young People of Boston, perished under the Judg­ments of God! A Renowned Writer, a­mong the Pagans, could make this Remark; There was a Town, so Irreligious and A­theistical, that they did not pay their First-fruits unto God: (which the Light of Na­ture taught the Pagans to do!) and sayes he, they were▪ by a Sudden Desolation so [Page 42] Strangly Destroy'd, that there were no Remainders either of the Persons, or of the Houses, to be seen any more. Ah, My Young Folks; There are few First-fruits paid unto the Lord Jesus Christ among you. From hence it comes to pass, that the Consuming Wrath of God, is every day upon you. New England ha's been like a Tott'ring House; the very Foundations of it have been Shaking: But the House thus over setting by the Whirlwinds of the Wrath of God, hath been like Jobs House; It falls upon the Young men, and they are Dead! The Disasters on our Young Folks have been so multiplied, that there are few Parents among us, but what will go with Wounded Hearts, down unto their Graves: Their dayly moans are, Ah, My Son cut off in his Youth! My Son, my Son! Behold then, the Help that we are to ask of our God; and why do we, with no more Dayes of Pray­er with Fasting, ask it? Lord, Help the Young People of Boston, to Remember thee in the Dayes of their Youth, and Sanctify unto the Survivers, the Terrible Things that have come upon so many of that Generation.

[Page 43]And now as Joshua, having Reasoned with his people, a little before he Died, in Josh. 24.26, 27. Took a Great STONE▪ and set it up, and said unto all the people, Be­hold, this Stone shall be a witness unto you, Lest ye Deny your God. Thus, we have been this Day setting up a STONE, even an E­benezer, among you; & I conclude, Ear­nestly testifying unto you, Behold this Stone, shall be a witness unto you, that the Lord JE­SUS CHRIST, has been a Good Lord unto you; and if you Seek Him, He will be still found of you, but if you Forsake Him, He will cast you off for ever.

IT is Reported, as the Special and Signal Favour of God, unto His People, in Exod. 1.20, 21. The People multiplied, and He made Them [that is, the People, for the word is in the Masculine Gender,] Houses: Which Favour of God in the nearest and strictest sense wherein that expression is commonly used, is not only most Merciful­ly Vouchsafed, but almost Miraculously con­tinued, [Page 45] unto us who now Compose this Assembly. Our Gracious God ha's given us Houses, wherein we Enjoy the Comforts of Life, Covered and Sheltered from for­reign injuries; Yea, and we have the Houses of our Gracious God also set open unto us, without the Liberties whereof, I hope, we should not find our s [...]ves able to Tast the Comforts of our own. Let it not be thought Unseasonable, I am sure, it should not be Unprofitable, for us to hear in the House of God at this Time, some Singular Things, wherein the Welfare of our own is more than a little concerned.

Concerning the Houses, with which our God ha's favoured us, there are Two Considerations, which doubtless, every man in this Assembly, of his own Accord, hath Entertained.

First, I suppose, We are all sensible, That for us to Loose our Houses by any Disaster whatsoever, would be a very terrible Calamity; Oh! It would be a Judgment of God, wherein the Anger of God, would be seen written with Fiery Characters. If by an Accident, or by an Enemy our Houses be Laid in Deso­lations, [Page 46] every Roar of the Raging Flames, every Crack of the Tumbling Timbers, every Downfal of the Undermined Walk, and every Jangle of the Bells then tolling the Funeral of those Houses, would loud­ly utter that voice, in Deut. 32.22. A Fire is Kindled in the Anger of God! It were a dismal Thing for our Houses be­coming too Hot for us, to say, Be gone; ye sinful Inhabitants, Be gone; you shall never Eat, or Sleep, or Talk, or Pray, in us, any more; and for our Consorts & Children with us, to be Stript in a few Hours, of all that we have been getting for many years, and be turn'd Shiftless and Help­less out of Doors, to Lodge Next Door unto Beggary. A Town so Afflicted, may have this Lamentable Account given of them, in Isa. 42.25. The Lord hath poured on them the Fury of His Anger, and it hath let them on Fire round about.

Secondly, And there is as much cause for us to be sensible, That it is the meer Power and Patience of our Good God, which keeps us from such a Terrible Ca­lamity, as the Loss of our Houses. How easy a thing were it, for the Vengeance of [Page 47] Heaven, to Lay all our Houses in Ruinou [...] Heaps before to morrow morning! Tru­ly, We may say, 'Tis because we have ob­tained Help from God, that we continue to this Day. We may sit in our Combusti­ble Houses, and make that Confession, in Psal. 127.1. The Lord keeps the Town; the Watchman waketh b [...]t in vain. When we think, how much Destruction may arise from one Spark, or one Snuff, and, as the Apostle speaks, How great a matter a Little Fire kindles! And when we think, how many Careless, how many Foolish, how many Drunken, yea, and how many hor­ribly Malicious persons, persons wicked enough, To burn their Neighbours Houses, only that they may Roast their own Eggs, may creep in among us; Or when we think of him whom we may call OG, which is in Eng­lish, The Burner, for the Delight that he has taken in Scorching men with Fire; We may with Admiration acknowledge, 'Tis our God that is our [...]. Oh! we must make that Acknowl [...]dgment before the Lord, in Psal. 121.4. Behold, He that keepeth Israel, doth neither Slumber nor S [...]eep; Else we should be wak'd out of [Page 48] our next Sleep, with a Formidable Outcry.

Sensible of these Things, we shall not count it Improper, to bestow a brief Discourse, upon the Methods, which we are, as Christians, to take for the Comfor­table Preservation of our Houses; especi­ally, now the Season of the year advan­ces, wherein there are the most pungent Invitations, for such Methods to be consi­dered.

Behold then the Great Method, for the secure Enjoyment of our Tabernacles, which the Oracles of God have directed us un­to: It is, The putting away Iniquity far from our Tabernacles.

That Perfect and Upright m [...]n, Job, had this among the Heavy Trials befal­ling of him, That he Lost his House: Now under this Trial, one of his Friends gives him this Advice: That he would by Ac­quaintance with God, and Repentance of Sin, Endeavour, to answer the Expectati­ons of Heaven concerning him. To Encourage him hereunto, here is this Blessing promised, Thou shalt be Built up: q. d. Thou shalt then have thy House Re­paired, without the fear of Loosing it any more.

[Page 49]The Clause which falls under our more particular Notice is that; Thou shalt put a­way Iniquity, far from thy Tabernacles: which is here mentioned, as the Effect of Return­ing to the Almighty. Now, by Iniquity, we may understand, either the Practice of Iniquity, or the Punishment of Iniquity. Take it for the Practice of Iniquity, and then the sense runs thus; Mani­fest thy Returning to the Almighty, by thy not▪ Suffering of any [...]niquity in thy Tabernacles. Take it for the punishment of Iniquity, and then the sense runs thus; By Returning to the Almighty thou wilt Save thy Tabernacles, from such Ruines as will come upon them, If thou continue in Iniquity. Take it which way you will, there is this Doctrine in it. The Way for us to secure the Comfortable En­joyment of our Tabernacles, is, by Returning unto the Almighty, to put Iniquity far from our Tabernacles.

There are Three plain Assertions be­fore us, by which I may come fairly at my Design, to promote Houshold-Reli­gion, in the management of an Argu­ment fetch'd from the Benefit thence ari­sing, unto the very Houses, wherein we mentain that Religion.

[Page 50] I. In true Religion, men do Return unto the Almighty God. There was a Blessed Communion with God, which man had at his first Creation by God. But how Long did this continue? Alas, It was not Long, before Man turned his Back upon the Service and the Glory of His Maker: It was not Long before Man Embraced the Vain Things of this World, instead of the God that made him. Every Sinner is now Guilty of that F [...]lly, that Frenzy, that Horrible Thing, in Jer. 2.13. He hath forsaken the Fountain of Living Waters, and he hath hew [...]d him [...]ut Broken Cisterus. Well, but now in Religion, there is a Conversion and a Returning of the Sinner; he saies, I will Return to my first Object, because it is best being with him. The Term From which a man does Return in Religion, is, All Sin whatsoever; and every Pleasure, every Profit, every Honour, which the Heart is by Sin carried forth unto. Thus 'tis said, in Jer. 18.11▪ Return ye now eve­ry one from his Evil way. The Term To which a man does Return in Religion, is, God in the Lord Jesus Christ; so that [Page 51] God becomes his Best [...] End, and the Lord Jesus Christ becomes his Prophet, his Priest, and his King for e­ [...]er. Thus 'tis said, in Jer. 4.1. If thou wilt Return, Return unto me, saith the Lord.

II. Those men that Return to the Al­mighty God, will put away Iniquity far from their Tabernacles. The House as well as the Heart of a man is cleansed by Religi­on; it will Reform not only his Living, and his Walking, but his Dwelling also. The Godly man is one that puts away all Iniquity, yea, that puts it far away: he doe▪ in Repenting of Iniquity, as the God of Heaven does in pardoning of it. In the pardoning of Iniquity, 'tis said, in Psal. 103 12. As far as the East is from the West, so far does God Remove our Transgres­sions from us; Thus, in the Repenting of I­niquity, the man saith, I would have all my Transgressions to [...]e as far from me, as the East is from the West: The East and West will never meet, nor would I ever shake hands with any Iniquity. Even, the very Shadow of Iniquity is banished from a Regenerate man; the very Appearance of [Page 52] Evil, is the matter of his Abstinence, his Abhorrence: he puts it far away from his Conversation, far away from his Approbati­on, far away from his Inclination: But this [...]s not all; He puts it far away from his Habitation too. Every Good man is Com­m [...]nitative of his Goo [...]es [...]; he would have all about him to be as Good, as Holy, as Happy as himself; and those of his own House most of all: He will not permit any Iniquity, that he can prevent. A Religious Christian would be a Religious Housholder too; he would be such an Housholder, as Jacob, who, in Gen. 35.2. Said unto his Houshold, and unto all that were with him, put away the Strange Gods that are among you; he would be such an Housholder, a [...] David, who said, in Psal. 101.2, 7. I will walk in my House, with a perfect Heart; He that works Deceit, shall not dwell within my House; he that telleth Lies, shall not tarry in my sight. Or, as Joshua, who said, As for me and my House, we will Serve the Lord.

III. By Putting away Iniquity far from our Tabernacles, we do secure to our selves the Comfortable Enjoyment of them. Let [Page 53] us drive our Sins out of our Houses, that we may not be driven out of them, our selves.

It is very time; A pious man, may have his Tabernacle taken from him; the loss of Houses is one of those Things, wherein the Soveraignty of God, will have All things come alike to all. A Treble Concession is [...] be made concerning this matter.

First, A Godly man may Suffer the loss of his House, in a Common Calamity, with wicked men. If a Righteous Let live in a Sodom, his House must be Bu [...]ed among the Rest in the Vicinity.

Again, A Godly man may Suffer the loss of his House, when man [...] wicked men Escape that Calamity. A Job, one who Fears God and Shuns Evil, may have his House laid even with the Ground, while he could yet complain, The Tabernacles of Robbers prosper. Yea,

Thirdly, At the House o [...] a Godly man may begin that Calamity, that shall In­volve the loss of many other Houses in it. A Fire may be carried, even from the Altar it self, over the whole City: and we know, Trouble may begin at the House of God. Wherefore, upon the whole; Those [Page 54] persons are not alwayes the Greatest Sin­ners, who are the Greatest Sufferers, in such a Calamity. Those Tabernacles may mis­carry in which yet there are no abound­ing miscarriages of Iniquity.

But all this Concession, will not Eva­cuate this Position; That we shall very much Consult the Safety of our Houses, if we keep Iniquity out of them. If we would not be put out of our Tabernacles our selves, it should be our Study, to put Iniquity far away from our Tabernacles. There are many wayes, by which men seek to Secure unto themselves the Com­fortable Enjoyment of their Houses. They look to the Stuff, and the Place, of their Building; they have their Water Engines, their Ensurances, and their Friendly Societies. 'Tis well: But, Sirs, there is one way more to be laid in, which I now mention, in the approach of the Time of the year, when the Dangers of our being Turned out of our Houses, are the greatest; That is, Let us Put Iniquity far from our Taber­nacles. Of this way, I may say, as David about the Sword of Goliah, There is none like it! For, There are Promises of our [Page 55] God, that the Tabernacles of men shall be spared, when the Iniquities of men are not spared in their Tabernacles: Promises, to be interpreted, with the Exceptions of the New Covenant. We have the word of a faithful God for it, Let no Sins dwell with you, and I will not cut off your Dwellings ▪ It is His Word, in Zeph. 3.7. I said, Surely, Thou wilt Fear me, thou wilt Receive Instruction, So their Dwelling should not be cut off. There is that Promise given to the Reformers of Iniquity, in Isa. 65.21. They shall Build Houses and Inhabit them: There is that Promise given to the For­sakers of Iniquity, in Ezek. 28.26. They shall Build Houses, and they shall dwell with Con­fidence therein. It was no mistake, in him that said, in Job 8 5, 6. If thou wouldest seek unto God, if thou were't pure and upright, He would make the Habitation of thy Righ­teousness Prosperous. A Righteous Habita­tion, is like to be a Prosperous Habitation, and therefore a Preserved Habitation.

But on the other side, There are the Menaces of our God, That if the Iniquities of men are not put away from their Ta­bernacles, their Tabernacles then shall be [Page 56] taken away from them. It is that which the most High God ha's threatned, Let your Sins go, or I will make your Houses go. See Zeph. 1 12, 13. It is Threatned, that God will Deprive us of our Houses, if Ini­quity be countenanced in them; and this He can do when He will, by His Fiery Rebukes. We have it Threatned, in Ezek. 16.41. They shall Burn thine Houses with Fire. It is also Threatned, That God will Empty our Houses of us; and this can be done quickly, by Oppression, by Poverty, by Mortality. We have it Threatned, in Isa. 5.9. Many Houses shall be Desolate, even Great and Fair ones, without Inhabitant▪ Briefly, If we would not have the [...] God, issue out a Writ of Ejection upon us, to Turn us out of our Houses, Let us put away Iniquity far from our Tabernacles.

In this one Expression, all Houshold Religion, is to be understood, as contain­ed and Intended. Accordingly,

The CASE,

Wherewith you are now to be treated, [Page 57] What is that Houshold Religion ▪ or, what are those Cares, and those Acts of Religion, in our Houses, whereby the Comfortable Enjoyment of our Houses, may be Secured unto us?

In answer hereunto, Let these Faithful Sayings be counted Worthy of all Acceptation with us.

I. If we would Comfortably Enjoy our Tabernacles, Let us particularly Put away those Iniquities, which have a particular Tendency to provoke, and procure our being Put out of our Tabernacles. The Jews thought they consulted the safety of their Houses, when they Sought, and Cast, all their Leven out of their Houses. Let us in like manner Search our Houses, for every Iniquity, which may be like Leven in them, and let us, Away with it, Away with it all! Indeed, Every Iniquity is per­nicious, not only to the Heart, but also to the House that gives a Lodging there­unto; and therefore we should fall out with all Iniquity. If any one should ma­liciously Burn us out of House and Home, [Page 58] we should never Endure the sight of such a Wretch; but see the Law of Death Executed on him. Why Sin, I say unto you, Si [...] would be such an Incendiary: it is said, in Isa. 9.18. Wickedness, burneth as Fire. But there are some Iniquities, which are more especially, and certainly, and frequently, as Fire balls upon the Houses wherein they are committed; and the Counsil thereupon unto us is, Oh! Turn those unfruitful works of Darkness out of D [...]ors, Lest we be our selves Turn'd out of Doors for the sake thereof.

It was of old Required, concerning an House, which had the Leprosy Spreading and Fretting on it, in Lev. 14.45. The Priest shall break down the House, the Stones of it, and the Timber thereof, and all the Mortar of the House. What that Plague of Leprosy was, we do not in this Part and Age of the World seem to understand; if it were not a Plague peculiar unto Ca­naan, perhaps it means an Infection in the Walls of an House, from whence the Inhabitants might be in Hazzard of catching the Leprosy. But this may be said in Allusion hereunto; I [...] you keep a­ny [Page 59] Bad Orders in your Houses, I must come unto you, with such Language, as was then directed, It seems to me▪ there [...]s, as it were a Plague in the House Do not now stand asking of me, what I mean by Bad Orders. Ask your sober, honest, industrious Neighbours; or ask your own Consciences; They will tell you, What Bad Orders are. But Oh! Get thy House cleared of that Plague which is to be seen in the Bad Orders of it; Lest our Lord Jesus Christ the High Priest of the Creation, do break down that H [...]use, and, it may be burn thee out of such an House.

There are Houses, where God is not Ser­ved, but where the people give themselves up to all Excess of Ri [...]t; Gaming Houses, Drinking Houses, perhaps Baw [...]y Houses; Houses, where Troops Assemble to Har­lots; Houses, where young people De­bauch themselves & one another. Those House [...], which make the Parents and Masters in the Town, continually afraid of ha­ving their [...]olks undone by those Houses. Me [...]ks, I see written on their Doors, Lord, have mercy upon us! There is a Plague in them. The Keepers of such Houses, [Page 60] are not in this Congregation to Day. But, those that may keep a strict eye upon them are here; and unto them, I would say, If the Worshipful Justices, and the Constables, and the Tything men, would In­vigorate their Zeal, to Rout the villanous Haunts of those Houses, the whole Town would be vastly the safer for it. There were Four whole Towns together once, in which there were many Houses, full of Riotous Iniquities; The Prophet says, There was nothing but Pride, and Luxury; and Idleness in their Houses; And the Wrath of God so broke forth against those Towns, that they were all consumed at once, and not one House Left Standing in them. The Nineteenth Chapter of Ge­nesis, will tell you, what I mean.

And besides these House consuming Bad Orders, there is especially one Iniquity more which will horribly Endanger the Tabernacles, that are Guilty of it; and that is, proper Iniquity, I mean, Dishonesty. It was a Remarkable passage, in Zech. 5.2, 4. A Flying Roll, the Length thereof Twenty Cubits, the Breadth thereof Ten Cubits; This is the Curse that goeth forth; I will bring it [Page 61] forth, saith the Lord of Hosts, and it shall enter into the House of the Thief, and the House of him that sweareth falsely; and it shall consume it, with the Timber thereof, and the Stones thereof. The Porch of the Temple, was, The Length thereof Twenty Cubits, and the Breadth thereof Ten Cubits: Now, 'tis Judg'd, there were men Em­ploy'd as Trustees of the Money gathered for the Building of the Temple: but some of them were such Thieves as to convert part of this unto their own use, and yet they Swore Falsely, in swearing to the Truth of their Accounts. Now, says the Lord, If the Temple it self were a Roll, or a Book, filled with Curses, it could not Express more Curses, than I will swiftly bring upon the Houses of such Dishonest men. Truly, All Dishonesty in Dealings, does Endanger the Houses of the Dealers. Men that go to feather their Nests by any Dishonesty, do but carry Coals into them. The Flying Roll of the Curses from God, comes as a Fiery Roll, to con­sume the Houses of them that by Stealing, by Cheating, by Lying, propose to Enrich themselves.

[Page 62] II. If we would comfortably Enjoy our Tabernacles, Let us Dedicate them unto God, and Employ them in Uses agreea­ble to such a Dedication. We read in Psal. 30. Tit. concerning, The [...] Dedication of the House of David. With such a De­dication Let us consecrate our Houses unto God, professing unto Him, Lord, This House which thou hast here given to me, I do give back to thee again, and I will use it for thy Glory, as Long as thou wilt Let me Live [...] it! And then according to this Conse­cration, as we read sometimes concerning, The Church in the House, of such or such a person, Let our Houses be a sort of Little Churches, for the Sacred Use that we put them unto. It was said of Jerusalem, in Zech. 2 5. I, saith the Lord, [...] unto [...] a Wall of Fire round about, and I will be the Glory in the midst of her. Thus, Let God be Glorified in the midst of our Hou­ses, and there will be a Wall of Fire, that is, a Guard of Angels, round about them, and so no other Fire shall prey upon them. Let our Houses be used, as if built on purpose for Works of Piety, and Works [Page 63] of Charity, to be therein performed; and Let our Character be that, in Acts 10.2. A Devout man, one that feared God, with all his House, which gave much Alms to the people, and pray'd unto God alway. There are two Names, that we should make our Houses now to become worthy of▪ the Name of Bethel, and the Name of Bethesda: both an House of God, and an House of Good. Let our Houses be as tho' Devoted unto the Service of God; Let Praying, and Reading, and Singing, be the Daily Exercises therein attended; so that you may look upon this and that Apartment with such a joyful Reflection in your minds, If the Walls of this place could speak, they would speak of many a good Hour which I have had with the Lord in this place. And let our Houses be, as tho' De­voted also unto the Succour of man; As far as you can, make Alms houses of them; Do what the Lord has bid, Bring the poor, that are cast out, unto thy House. Let an Hungry Jesus, a Naked Jesus, a Travelling Jesus, in His Members, be often Refresh­ed there. I tell you, The very Angels of God, Love to Watch about the Hou­ses, [Page 64] that are so Devoted unto the Lord.

When the Jews built their Houses, they still had their Gualijoth, their [...]APEΩA, their Upper Chambers in them. There was alwayes a Room, in the Upper part of the House, which they set apart for Sacred Employments: It was their Oratory, and they had in it a Window, which they called, Gods Window, opening towards the Temple. Here Daniel waited upon God; Here Hezekiah lay Sick; Paul took this Room to Preach in, when Euti­chus fell, 'tis probable, from that very Window. Even the Wickedest men a­mong them, would not have an House without such a Room and such a Window in the Room; Hence the Lord said of one, in Jer. 22.14. Wo to him, that saith, I will build me a wide House, and large Upper Chambers, and cutteth him out Windows there. But now, that which is to be urged upon us, in these Dayes, when Holiness of Places is abolished, is this; Let every Room of our Houses, in some sort or other, be the Lords.

III. Our Tabernacles must not be Prayer­less [Page 65] Tabernacles, if we would Comfortably Enjoy these Tabernacles. If we will Deny God, in our Houses, 'tis but just that He should then Deny Houses unto us. It is a dreadful Imprecation, in Jer. 10.25. O Lord, pour out thy Fury on the Families, that call not on thy Name. And wherein will that Fury be discovered? It will be par [...]ly discovered, in Turning those Families out of their Houses.

If there be so much as one owner of a Prayerless House, now appearing in this House of Prayer; yea, if there be so much as one of you, that Pray any seldome [...] with your Families, than ordinarily Twice in a Day, with a Morning and an Evening Sacrifice, I would address that man, with an Earnest Expostrilation.

Friend; The very Turks, do at this Day uphold a Family Worship among them; and art thou worthy to be called a Christian, that livest without any Family-Worship at all? No, Thou art in this Thing, worse than a T [...]rk ▪ It is noted concerning Obed-Edom, The Lord blessed Obed-Edom, and his Houshold, while the Ark of the Lord was there. Even so, The Lord [Page 66] would Bless thee, and thy Houshold, if Prayer to the Lord were there. But thy Sinful, Woful Family lies open to the Curse of God, as long as thou dost not carry those poor Children and Servants unto the Lord Jesus Christ, for His Blessing to be bestow'd upon them: And how hide­ously, will They also Curse thee, through­out Eternal Ages, when they shall with Intolerable Anguish cry out, Oh! that I had never seen that Prayerless House! 'Tis that House, which ha's brought me to this Hell for ever! But there is this particu­lar Aggravation of thy Impiety; That if the Town be laid in Ashes, 'tis thy Pray­erless House that is among the just causes of it.

Come then; Don't any more plead, That you have no Time for Family-Prayer. Did God Give thee all thy Time; and shall He have none of it? Find a little Time for thy Soul, as well as for the World; Or, go write that Sentence upon thy Mantle tree, What is a man pro­fited, if he gain the whole World, and loose his own Soul?

And plead no more, That you want [Page 67] Confidence or Utterance, for Family Prayer. But, Meditate on that Warning of the Lord Jesus Christ, Whosoever shall be A­shamed of me, of him also shall the Son of Man be Ashamed. Sit down, and ponder, What are your Sins, your Wants, your Woes; There is no need of making Elegant Orations before the Lord: Call thy Folks together; Fall down before the Lord among them all; Cry to the Lord for them as well as He shall en­able thee: Try, to Night, if thou never didst before; Try; God will Help thee, man; and thou wilt come to the Mini­ster who thus advised thee, and say, Blessed be the Lord, and Blessed be thy Advice, and Blessed be thou for giving it!

IV. If we would Comfortably Enjoy our Tabernacles, Let us Conscientiously Instruct and Govern those that are under our charge, in our Tabernacles. Let us do what we can, that there may be none but such as may Know and Serve God in our Houses, and it may be Hoped that God will permit our Houses to stand before Him. There is to be Recommend­ed [Page 68] unto us, the Great Exemple of Abra­ham, in Gen. 18.19. I know him, that he will command his Children and Houshold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord. Oh! Let not the Houses of Christians, be­come like the Wigwams of Indians, for the Unnurtured, Uninstructed, Ungo­verned, Families in them! Wherefore, Let us Faithfully Teach the Little Folks in our Houses; Teach them, as David and Bethsheba did their Solomon; Teach them to Know those things from their Childhood, whereby they may be made Wise unto Sal­vation: See that they be none of them unacquainted with the Covenant of God, or, with any agreeable Doctrine of God their Saviour. Let us also Fervently Charge those Little Folks: Charge them to Serve the Lord with a Perfect Heart and a Willing Mind; Charge them to Believe on Christ, and Repent of Sin, and Return to God; Charge them to Enter into their Closets, and Pray to their Heavenly Father in Secret; Admonish them, that they do Consider their Wayes; and that especially they Shun all Bad Company, and not Con­sent, if Sinners do Entice them. If any of [Page 69] them do fall into any Sin against God, be sure to Reprove that Sin; Reprove it Scripturally, Reprove it Effectually. And Restrain them from every Sin, which they would be Ready to Run into. Let there be no Children of Belial with you, none that shall be free from the Yoke of a Serious Discipline.

There is especially one Sin, which the Lord has Required Housholders to keep all within their Houses from.

The Fourth Commandment is, That the Lords Day shall not be profaned, by thy Son, or thy Daughter, thy Man servant, or thy Maid servant, nor thy Stranger that is within thy Gates. And it was once the Menace of Heaven, If ye will not hearken unto me, to hallow the Sabbath-day, then I will kindle a Fire▪ and it shall devour, and it shall not be quenched! Oh! consider of it!

V. Let us carefully Attend, Esteem, Sup­port the Tabernacles of the Lord, and that will be the way for us comfortably to Enjoy our own. When David was Ba­nished from his own House, his value for the House of God, was Recompensed [Page 70] with a Return unto his own. Would we never be Banished at all; out of our Hou­ses? Let us value the House of God above our own; and let us Build up His House, Lest He Burn down ours. Would we have many Dayes in our Tabernacles? Let us then heartily say, as in Psal. 84.1.10. How Amiable are thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts? A Day there is better than a thou­sand elsewhere. Would we have the Love and the Eye of God upon our Habitations? Let us then heartily say, as in Psal 26.8. Lord, I have Loved the Habitation of thy House, and the place where thy Honour dwells. The Jewes give this, as the Definition of a Bad Neighbour: A Bad Neighbour is one who dwells in a Town, where there is a Sy­nagogue, and never comes unto the Synagogue. Truly, that person, who comes not unto the Houses of God, in the Town, is a Bad Neighbour; and our own Houses may fare the worse for having such a Bad Neighbour near unto them. They plead perhaps, That they have not Cloaths good enough. But you that are their Friends, I pray, ask them, whether they had not better come to the House of God, with [Page 71] mean Cloaths, than Loose the Garments of Salvation, which are here to be put upon their Souls. Ask them, whether they must not shortly be Shrowded in a Wind­ing Sheet, and then they will mourn at the Last, that ever mean Cloaths were their Excuse for not coming to the House of God. If they profanely tell you, They stay at Home to Read a Chapter in Job, Turn 'em to a Chapter in Job, and that mark of a Godly man, in Job 23 12. I have Esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary Food. Briefly, It is the Church of God, that is the House of God. Now, Let the Church of God, receive all possible Regard and Kindness from you▪ Upon this Encouragement, you cannot Show so much Respect unto the House of God, but God will show more to yours.

VI. Let us be Humbly Thankful, for the Mercies of God, which we Enjoy in our Tabernacles, if we would still comfor­ [...]ably Enjoy our Tabernacles. If we would not be Turned out of our Houses, Let us [...]ay the Rent which we owe to our Great Land lord for them: That Rent is this, [Page 72] Let us offer the praise that will Glorifie Him, and Let us order our Conversations aright. We are not Abroad obnoxious to the Hardships of the Weather, Consumed, as the Patriarch was, In the Day by the Drought, and in the Night by the Frost; nor are we confined unto the wretched Cottages of the Salvages. Now unto what is this to be ascribed?

I'l mention unto you, a very Heart-mel­ting Thought! Our Precious and Glori­ous Lord Jesus Christ, could say, in Mat. 8.20. The Foxes have Holes, and the Birds of the Air, have Nests; but the Son of Man has not where to Lay his Head. Now 'tis to this Humiliation of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we are to ascribe, the Mercies which we have, in our Commodious Houses. Oh! Let us Thankfully say be­fore the Lord, My Lord Jesus Christ, by being Harbourless in this Evil World, has procured for me this Benefit, that I am in a Good Harbour [...]hore. Bless the Lord, O my Soul, and Forget not such a Benefit! Here­upon, When we Look round about our Houses, and see the manifold Smiles of God in every Corner of them, we should [Page 73] then Study with our selves, What shall I now render to the Lord? It is noted of Da­vid, in 2 Sam 7.1, 2. He sat in his House, and the Lord had given him Rest, and he then thought, What shall I do for the Ark of God? Would we Sit long, and Sit safe, and Sit quiet in our Houses? Let us, when we Sit there, contrive what Returns we shall make to the God of Heaven for them.

VII. Would we comfortably Enjoy our Tabernacles? Then Let us Remember that they are no more than Tabernacles. When you go into your Comfortable Houses, rec­kon them no more than Stages, whereat you can only stay to Bait a while in your Journey, to your Eternal State. Oh! Live like Strangers in your own Houses; and be the House never so convenient, yet count not [...]ur selves at Home, in that House.

I beseech you, to Lay up this Admoni­tion with you. If you would Keep any thing, in this World, you must not set your Hearts upon it: and indeed, it is fit that men should keep nothing of this World, which they do set their Hearts [Page 74] upon. The way for us, to have our Hou­ses taken away from us, is, to have our Hearts vainly fond of continuing in them. It was therefore an Annual, and a most suitable Ceremony, which the Lord Enjoin­ed upon His People of old; When a Good Harvest had fill'd their Houses, God ordered them to go out of their Houses; they must then go make Little Tabernacles abroad, and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Thus did the Lord mind them of their Condition in this World; when they had never so much of this World about them, they must not forget that they were no more than Sojourners in the World. This I say; Tho' we have Houses that we can Feast in, yet Let us have the Temper of a Feast of Taberna­cles in us. Let our Hearts be gone out of our Houses, & the Lord will give us, Leave to stay the Longer in them.

Oh! Let us not be those Fools, of whom 'tis said in Psal. 49 11. Their Inward Thought is, that their Houses shall continue for ever, and their Dwelling-places to all Generations: Nor let us foolishly count, the Goods in our Houses, Goods laid up for [Page 75] many years. As we walk about our Houses, let this Consideration come into our Hearts; How easily can all these Riches take themselves Wings and flee away! One or Two Hours, may lay this House Level with the Ground. But there is a further Consideration, which is then also to come into our Hearts; 'Tis but a little while that I shall remain in this House; It won't be long, before I am Lock'd up in a Coffin under Ground, when the place that now knows me, will know me no more.

And what should be the Issue of such Considerations? I would Pray you, let it be This. Let us make sure of an House Eternal in the Heavens, to be Enjoy'd by us, when our Earthly Tabernacles can be no more useful to us. If you Enquire, How this is to be done? I answer, in one Word; By giving to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Heaven, a Dwelling in our Souls. Our Houses here, though made of Brick and Stone it self, they are only Tabernacles. But the Apostle tells us, in 2 Cor. 5.1. We have an House Eternal in the Heavens. The Blasphemous Julian, would insolently call our Lord Jesus [Page 76] Christ, The Carpenters Son. But, Christi­ans; Be assured, That Blessed Son in Law of a Carpenter, is He that ha's built a Stately Palace, in the Heavenly Regions, for all His Chosen ones; and He hath said, in Joh. 14.2. In my Fathers House are many Mansions; Even, as there were ma­ny Chambers to Lodge the Priests, an­nexed unto the Temple of old. The For­midable Fires, that shall dispatch the Conflagration of the World, of which Conflagration, the Fires multiplied in our Dayes, are doubtless a Shadow, and an Omen; Those Fires, I say, will not reach this Illustrious House.

When the Worthy Minister of Nola, had his House burnt, he lift up his Eyes to Heaven, saying, Domine, ubi Omnia Mea Tu Scis; Lord, Thou knowest, I have a better House than This. Oh! Let us make sure of a Mansion in Heaven, by Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and so, when our other Houses fail us, We shall be Received into Everlasting Habitations.